IV – Cryptobiosis

There’s a ship out there, on the ocean. She’s called Lankester and every year she sails from Madagascar to New Orleans and back again. Every year. Without exception. Regular as clockwork.

Her schedule is never behind. Her cargo is always fresh.

This trip, she has passengers. The passengers have baggage.

And the baggage might just be enough to sink her.

1 Comment

Styre
on May 7, 2016 at 9:31 PM

CRYPTOBIOSIS

With the end of 2005 came the annual subscriber-only release from Big Finish: Elliot Thorpe’s Cryptobiosis. Unlike its two predecessors, however, Cryptobiosis is a very traditional Doctor Who play, featuring a small cast, the mentality of a “base under siege” story, and an incredibly straightforward plot.

Thorpe attempts to invert some traditional Doctor Who tropes to generate drama: the best example of this is at the beginning when the Doctor is imprisoned for a crime he obviously did not commit, only to discover that Callany has done so to keep the Doctor out of danger. With only one other character on board capable of movement, the identity of the “bad guy” is painfully clear, but as the story is partially about De Requin’s insanity this doesn’t matter too much. The revelation that Amy is a mermaid is equally obvious, but it asks some interesting questions about life on Earth and gives Colin Baker a chance at a new series-esque speech marveling at the wonders of the planet.

Yet despite the interesting ideas on display, there just isn’t much to say about the script. It’s mostly well-structured, with each scene following logically from the last — except for De Requin’s descent into madness at the conclusion, which seems to come out of left field. Still, it’s a good script for the characters — we get to see Peri’s moral outrage at Amy’s death and the treatment of the child, we get to see the Doctor lose his TARDIS and regain it from the mer-people, and we get an ending rife with dramatic irony. Thorpe also gives the script an excellent sense of isolation — the lack of a supporting cast, usually a weakness, actually adds to this feeling.

Colin Baker’s performance is up to its usual standard of excellence. Between unjust imprisonment, losing his TARDIS, reasoning with a practically-alien race as well as a lunatic, and protecting his companion, the Doctor is given a great deal to do, and Baker shows the strong moral core that has made his Big Finish appearances so appealing. Nicola Bryant joins him for the first time since the last subscriber release (Her Final Flight), and continues to show how this pairing could have matured if allowed to grow on television — there’s an obvious warmth and chemistry between them.

The four-person supporting cast is led by Michael Cuckson’s Captain Callany, who initially appears to be insanely paranoid, but Cuckson restrains his performance as the play continues, giving his character a strong honorable sense. Billy Miller does much the same as Nerus — the merpeople have what appears to be a slightly different moral code, and Miller makes his character sound trustworthy with a dangerous undercurrent. Naomi Paxton dials the melodrama up to 11 as Amy, especially at her death, but the real ham sandwich of this play is Tony Beck, who gives one of the most OTT performances in Doctor Who history as De Requin. It’s not appealing, unfortunately — his delusional cackles at the conclusion are mind-bogglingly awful.

With a one-disc release and a small supporting cast, it is obvious that Cryptobiosis was working from a smaller budget than the main releases. But this isn’t apparent at all in David Darlington’s sound design, which expertly recreates the sound of a steamship. As mentioned above, there’s a very oppressive, claustrophobic feeling to the play, and much of this is down to Darlington’s work — his music is first-rate as well. Gary Russell’s direction keeps the pace flowing well and shows a keen grasp of the material — but some restraint on Tony Beck, please!

Overall, Cryptobiosis is another worthwhile subscriber bonus. As with its predecessors, it’s only a little better than average as a Doctor Who play, but an average Doctor Who story with excellent production is more than enough to expect from a free bonus CD.